Facebook has rolled out a new feature to users’ profiles that involves a huge overhaul to the overall look and feel – and it’s called ‘timeline’.
Offering up a more magazine-type experience, the most obvious change is at the top of the page, where a very large image now sits. You can also choose to highlight your most memorable posts, meaning – to use a sporting analogy – people see more of a highlights package than the whole match.
However, the big aim with Facebook timeline is to let users tell their life story. This includes life pre-Facebook, so from birth right up until present day. More data, essentially, for the social network.
The change affects mobile too – iPhone at first, with others to follow.
But what does this mean for Facebook pages? The latest is that Facebook will look to introduce this feature at the end of February.
Could this be of benefit to businesses?
If a business has some history behind it, timeline could offer a great opportunity to show off where the company has been and where it is now. Big, established brands will certainly look upon the new version as a way of telling their story, certainly – think Coca Cola, McDonalds etc – but the changes may well benefit small firms too.
If people can see evidence of a company’s credibility through when it was established, how it has evolved and the type of work it has been involved in, this will all help to build trust with potential customers.
Picture a press or Yellow Pages ad where there is a strapline that goes something like ‘providing a first-class service to customers for more than 50 years’ – timeline could really bring this to life. Have a look at this Mashable article that features mock ups of what a page with timeline might look like.
What do you think timeline will mean for business pages?
